Subscribe to download
Killing Waters: The November 1985 Flood

The Great Flood of November 4-5, 1985, saw rainstorms that poured over 8 inches of rain into the mountain valleys of West Virginia and western Maryland in less than 24 hours. Lives were lost, and many homes and other structures were completely destroyed. The storm was designated as the worst to hit the region in well over 100 years. Chessie System's B&O Mountain Subdivision was not immune to this catastrophe. On the evening of November 4, as the waters of the North Branch of the Potomac River were only beginning to rise, Z Tower dispatched a train of empties with four GP-35s over 17 Mile Grade, with the intended destination being M&K Junction, which was already seeing flood waters rise rapidly under Bridge 92, with through traffic over the trestle suspended as a precaution.

As the train ascended the grade, a major washout near Hitchcock forced two locomotives over an embankment. And that's where we come in: in this scenario, we are assigned to a rescue train with railroad personnel aboard to investigate the disaster, but before news of the wreck hits the air, we have already been assigned to position cuts of loaded coal hoppers on two nearby trestles as a precaution.

In history, this was truly the end of the Mountain Subdivision as it is portrayed in Train Simulator. Bridge 92 was ultimately destroyed in the early morning hours of November 5 when raging flood waters undercut the center support, ripping the bridge apart in such a way that it forced heavy torrents of fast moving water into the town of Rowlesburg, destroying many homes, and taking out the only road bridge into town. The trestle was hastily replaced with a single track girder span, which remains in use to this day. Several miles of the mainline were reduced to single track as a result. The accident portrayed in the scenario at MP 216 saw the death of one crew member, a fireman, with the two locomotives that were thrown over the embankment being buried in place, as the slope was just too great to effect a feasible removal effort.

So here, now, we present this scenario which takes place during the final hours of the Mountain Sub as we know it.

For a sequel scenario, you can play Killing Waters II: After the Flood on the workshop route "B&O Mountain Subdivision: Post-1985"! Here is a link to the scenario-- https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2864397859&tscn=1663549168